Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-04-11

and suggested that she was giving me &C
casion to see her alone. for ON the rugged,
desolatc island there was less chance 0f
Interruptions than III or about Bar har-
Dor, - thinking | cheered mp visibly
and ldita watched me with swift glanceS
out of those creole eyes of hers and
smiled softly Ia herself, humning now
and then a tautaliZiuG air that stopped
short. like the song OF the moCklng bird,
lust when il seemed about 10 launch
deeper into melody. Altogether ldita
presented an impish and tricky mood
that day such rs | never knew her To
show before or since.
At the meet there was the usual cOnfu-
sion. calling. laughter, humping Of ca
noes. small shricks from over excited girls,
coming and going Of the official boats. |
was promptly boarded 10y Mrs. Gaunt,
who held me with gimlct "ye while she
talked about Idi,a In few minutes |
heard more names of men 'Ahu had been,
were or were about TO lie in state o:
violent love with that You ~ lady than my
brain could possibly retain. Only one I'M
pressed himself by reason of picturesque
ness The youth, whose name missed,
had fallen hcadlong Il slave t" the cruel
hOulliill. anu NAfll thAiN '''''N A'''A'A
10 some faStness to brood on his hopeless
passion and, 80 il appeared, his wrongs.
For Idita had certainly snubbed him ont
ragcouslv, if half what Mrs Gaunt said
was true Another the moral Of il all
-abided by me also. Is it necessary Ia
state it, |, too, would promptly underS"
like treatment al those little hands, !, too,
would be encouraged. enjoyed. quarreled
with. snubbed and brushed aside.
But my dear lady, said ], in any
event no mountain top or tastncsS i'll the
wilds for me No; if ldita-i mean Miss
Idita-shouli he so harsh To AN old, old
friend, would not go away where could
not see her, but stay right herr-ycs, and
give her good snub myself now and
then
Il like Ia hear you talk like that" " she
answered compassionately, "becau~e il in
sures Ia US poor wall flowers who have
outgrOwr our youth and beauty another
amusing episode in the unparalleled career
of the belle uf Bar Harbor
The she devil had OWNED that | hated
that expression | ground my teeth -"
that she was frightened. She began Ia
talk To somebody else, and fearing that |
would tell Idita what she had said. set in
circulation story the point nf which was
that could not he trusted for moment
50 shocking liar was |.
Longing to he Off. | found ldita in
earnest talk with Tommy Moore, who
verify looked more like crazy man than
ANYTHING else; he was furious at my good
luck and seemed 10 be saying violent
things as ! came up. Ii was fire 10 see
Idita quiet and Cuell him, but my arrival
was not oppOrtune, to say the least: he
flung himself away and walked TO grassy
hillock overlooking the scene, where, !
heard ,atterward. he rolled on the turf Ike
a mailman and uttered curses never heard
before from thole gentle lips.
But the signal WAS given and we en-
barked | wonder how many Of the men
had ever been in birch before. hadn't.
But knew theoretically how to work the
paddle. and was determined TO die rather
than let Idita see that | was what j. vul-
carly called dufTer. Fortunately that
young lady was and is 4 round weight:
She i, not lOyeliness in its most ethereal
aspect. so my canoe was well down IN the
water and easier to handle. Fortunately,
also. the need of keeping the line made
progression slow, so that / had nearly
half an hour in which To take my first
lesson. Once or twice | scattered the
wrong kind Of diamonds over that divine
head sbUt Idita seemed too happy to care.
Was sh" happy because at last had Gomez
Her eyes We're fixed on Turtle island, and
nv own heart beat fast Is she thinking
Of our agreement, kept wondering.
We moved gayiy and magniiicently up
the bay and down. then turned for the
grand review with the addition TO our
ranks Of several score of late cOmers.
Among them was Tommy Moore. as ]
found to my Gismay, for he jarnmed his
canoe alongside mine aud took a balcful
pleasure in bOtlsering me in every way he
could. When he came in ldita'S line of
vision that Charmer merely nodded TO him
lightly, as if nothing had happened out OF
the way-perhaps il was an everyday
matter TO her that poor little society
baby should roll on the ground and curse
horribly on her account. ] could not get
rid Of him till | bethcuEht me Of retalia
ton. and having by skillful hoist under
the stern Of his can be given Tommy very
near to IA duCkiug. that malign youth
kept more respectful distance, and only
tried TO ''fasciuate' ldi;a with his eyes
and express with his nose what he
thought of me and my vile padding.
The joke was dull as we approached
Turtle island again. so | slaCkened up and
edged away To the furthest boat on the
wing. deaf TO the call of the commodore.
and as the line moved abreast of the island
did my prettiest to get round the point
to the other side, there to land-there 10
have Idita all 10 myself! Luckily. Tommy
pal,,..l MT h.4 lima sltuf h,a fnr,1I
not see the skulkers, and flattered myself,
as we forged over into the smooth water
behind the point. that he had not detected
our escape. How to get ldita out of the
slippery canoe was the next thing that
nearly turned my hair gray: but it was
done well though tits | who say it, at the
expense Of one of my feet soaked with salt
water To EEL her hand on my shoulder,
to have he weight fail on me when she
sprang from the big rock. are mere mat
tiers of detail that reCur to me just now
with singular VividncSs, | know not why,
unless We remember best the kinduesses
that we receive just before the final
breach
But the wall. over the narrow grass
border and through the swinging walls of
evergreen was Il thing 10 remember too.
Idita's gay spirits were gone. and /
faucied that both OF Us were in the mood
of moods that runs before decisive and
blissfui speech. / cannot say that ] had
made up my mind to ask her To marry.
II you know ldita You will never think
that: for what would DE the goUd2 Any
time during the preceding winter she
could hav. said. and it would have been.
Now also Gas il for her 10 speak. accord